Weekly Pitcher Rankings: It's Shark Week in SF

Weekly Pitcher Rankings: It's Shark Week in SF

This article is part of our Weekly Pitcher Rankings series.

So much for April showers bringing May flowers as we just endured another week marred by postponements, throwing a wrench into pitching plans. This week doesn't set up well for two-start options, meaning everyone likely will face a few tough decisions.

Another tweak was added to the ranks, namely the quality of opposition faced by each pitcher. With a month of games in the books, we can begin to formulate refined opinions with respect to each team's offense versus righty and lefty pitching. We're also at the point in-season skill changes are captured by rest-of-season expectations.

Even with the improvements, there no doubt will be some rankings that look curious. As always, I'll be glad to show my math in the comments.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK PITCHER TEAM OPPONENT COMMENT
1 Masahiro Tanaka NYY at CIN, vs. HOU
2 Chris Sale BOS vs. TB The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable
3 Drew Pomeranz BOS at MIL, vs. TB Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws
4 Carlos Carrasco CLE at TOR
5 Justin Verlander DET at ARI, at LAA
6 Jose Quintana CWS vs. SD Back on track after slow start
7 Yu Darvish TEX vs. SD
8 Corey Kluber CLE vs. MIN Tentative, on DL with sore back
9 Chris Archer TB vs. KC
10 Marcus Stroman TOR vs. CLE, vs. SEA
11 Rick Porcello BOS vs. TB
12 Jake Odorizzi TB vs. KC
13 Danny Salazar CLE at TOR
14 Ricky Nolasco LAA at OAK,
So much for April showers bringing May flowers as we just endured another week marred by postponements, throwing a wrench into pitching plans. This week doesn't set up well for two-start options, meaning everyone likely will face a few tough decisions.

Another tweak was added to the ranks, namely the quality of opposition faced by each pitcher. With a month of games in the books, we can begin to formulate refined opinions with respect to each team's offense versus righty and lefty pitching. We're also at the point in-season skill changes are captured by rest-of-season expectations.

Even with the improvements, there no doubt will be some rankings that look curious. As always, I'll be glad to show my math in the comments.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

RANK PITCHER TEAM OPPONENT COMMENT
1 Masahiro Tanaka NYY at CIN, vs. HOU
2 Chris Sale BOS vs. TB The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable
3 Drew Pomeranz BOS at MIL, vs. TB Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws
4 Carlos Carrasco CLE at TOR
5 Justin Verlander DET at ARI, at LAA
6 Jose Quintana CWS vs. SD Back on track after slow start
7 Yu Darvish TEX vs. SD
8 Corey Kluber CLE vs. MIN Tentative, on DL with sore back
9 Chris Archer TB vs. KC
10 Marcus Stroman TOR vs. CLE, vs. SEA
11 Rick Porcello BOS vs. TB
12 Jake Odorizzi TB vs. KC
13 Danny Salazar CLE at TOR
14 Ricky Nolasco LAA at OAK, vs. DET Protected by a couple of great pitching venues
15 Danny Duffy KC vs. BAL
16 Marco Estrada TOR vs. SEA
17 Michael Fulmer DET at LAA
18 Nathan Karns KC at TB, vs. BAL Helps to be facing O's in The K
19 Charlie Morton HOU vs. ATL, at NYY
20 Michael Pineda NYY vs. HOU Team Math getting closer to declaring victory over Team Eyes
21 Matt Andriese TB vs. KC, at BOS Quietly impressive, hope Red Sox bats stay relatively quiet
22 Dallas Keuchel HOU at NYY Working down in zone, getting results, but still not racking up strikeouts
23 Jason Hammel KC at TB
24 Sean Manaea OAK vs. LAA
25 Jason Vargas KC at TB
26 Luis Severino NYY vs. HOU
27 Jharel Cotton OAK vs. LAA
28 Matt Shoemaker LAA vs. DET Not as sharp as second half of 2016 but helped by home venue
29 Dylan Bundy BAL at WAS Great test for the emerging ace
30 Hisashi Iwakuma SEA at PHI, at TOR Huge park downgrades
31 Jordan Montgomery NYY vs. HOU
32 A.J. Griffin TEX at SD, vs. OAK
33 Ervin Santana MIN at CLE Pitching well, but comeuppance on the way
34 Josh Tomlin CLE vs. MIN
35 Joe Biagini TOR vs. SEA Filling in for Latos, may not make this start
36 Derek Holland CWS vs. MIN
37 JC Ramirez LAA vs. DET Figuring it out as a starter
38 Joe Musgrove HOU vs. ATL Getting closer to tapping out but still a believer
39 Nick Martinez TEX at SD, vs. OAK
40 Lance McCullers HOU at NYY High hit rate concerning, other peripherals stellar
41 Miguel Gonzalez CWS vs. MIN
42 Eduardo Rodriguez BOS at MIL High risk, high reward, Brewers can score but whiff a ton
43 Ariel Miranda SEA at PHI
44 Jesse Chavez LAA at OAK
45 Jordan Zimmermann DET at LAA
46 Chris Tillman BAL at KC
47 Kendall Graveman OAK vs. LAA
48 Trevor Bauer CLE vs. MIN
49 Andrew Triggs OAK at TEX
50 CC Sabathia NYY at CIN
51 Alex Meyer LAA at OAK, vs. DET
52 Martin Perez TEX vs. SD
53 Chris Young KC at TB, vs. BAL
54 Francisco Liriano TOR vs. CLE
55 Dylan Covey CWS vs. SD
56 Mike Clevinger CLE at TOR
57 Daniel Norris DET at LAA
58 Jose Berrios MIN at CLE
59 Kevin Gausman BAL vs. WAS, at KC
60 Blake Snell TB vs. KC, at BOS
61 Mike Pelfrey CWS vs. MIN, vs. SD
62 Phil Hughes MIN at CWS
63 Hector Santiago MIN at CWS, at CLE
64 Kyle Kendrick BOS at MIL
65 Chase De Jong SEA at TOR
66 Sonny Gray OAK at TEX
67 Mike Fiers HOU at NYY
68 Ubaldo Jimenez BAL vs. WAS, at KC
69 Andrew Cashner TEX vs. OAK
70 Nick Tepesch MIN at CWS
71 Yovani Gallardo SEA at TOR
72 Wade Miley BAL at WAS
73 Casey Lawrence TB vs. CLE, vs. SEA
74 Jesse Hahn OAK at TEX
75 Christian Bergman SEA at TOR
76 Matt Boyd DET at ARI
77 Alex Cobb TB at BOS

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Rank Pitcher TEAM Opponent(s) Comments
1 Max Scherzer WAS at BAL, vs. PHI
2 Jacob deGrom NYM vs. SF, at MIL
3 Carlos Martinez STL at MIA, vs. CHC
4 Jeff Samardzija SF at NYM, vs. CIN Ignore 0-4 with 5.04 ERA. Focus on 2.96 xFIP with 10.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9
5 Stephen Strasburg WAS vs. BAL
6 Jake Arrieta CHC at COL, at STL Strikeouts up, walks down but has a little gopheritis
7 Clayton Kershaw LAD at COL Lowest he'll be all season
8 Jon Lester CHC at STL Only tossed at least six innings in two of six outings
9 Jameson Taillon PIT at LAD, at ARI
10 Robbie Ray ARI vs. DET, vs. PIT Improved control helping Ray work deeper into games
11 Johnny Cueto SF vs. CIN
12 Tanner Roark WAS vs. PHI
13 Matt Moore SF at NYM, vs. CIN Inconsistent, but pair of good matchups
14 Kenta Maeda LAD vs. PIT
15 Julio Teheran ATL at MIA
16 Adam Conley MIA vs. STL, vs. ATL Middling arm benefiting from sneaky good matchups at home
17 Zack Greinke ARI vs. PIT
18 Jerad Eickhoff PHI vs. SEA
19 Julio Urias LAD vs. PIT
20 Gio Gonzalez WAS at BAL, vs. PHI
21 Alex Wood LAD vs. PIT
22 Ivan Nova PIT at LAD, at ARI Better at home but should hold his own on the road
23 Mike Foltynewicz ATL at MIA Still inconsistent
24 Tyler Anderson COL vs. LAD
25 Lance Lynn STL at MIA
26 Jaime Garcia ATL at HOU
27 Zach Davies MIL vs. NYM
28 R.A. Dickey ATL at MIA
29 Dan Straily MIA vs. STL
30 Chad Kuhl PIT at LAD
31 Adam Wainwright STL at MIA
32 Gerrit Cole PIT at ARI Pitching well but huge park downgrade and draws Zack Greinke
33 Mike Leake STL vs. CHC
34 Zack Wheeler NYM vs. SF
35 Taijuan Walker ARI vs. PIT
36 Michael Wacha STL vs. CHC
37 Edinson Volquez MIA vs. ATL
38 Zach Eflin PHI vs. SEA
39 Ty Blach SF vs. CIN
40 Tyler Chatwood COL vs. LAD
41 Bartolo Colon ATL at HOU
42 Trevor Cahill SD at CWS
43 Matt Harvey NYM at MIL
44 Tom Koehler MIA vs. STL
45 Odrisamer Despaigne MIA vs. ATL
46 Amir Garrett CIN at SF
47 Luis Perdomo SD vs. TEX, at CWS
48 Scott Feldman CIN at SF
49 Jeremy Hellickson PHI at WAS
50 Rich Hill LAD at COL
51 Matt Cain SF at NYM Was last outing the pumpkin or just a blip?
52 Tim Adleman CIN vs. NYY
53 Robert Gsellman NYM at MIL
54 Antonio Senzatela COL vs. CHC, vs. LAD
55 Vince Velasquez PHI at WAS
56 Bronson Arroyo CIN at SF
57 Patrick Corbin ARI vs. PIT
58 Rookie Davis CIN vs. NYY, at SF
59 Matt Garza MIL vs. NYM
60 Brett Anderson CHC at STL
61 Chase Anderson MIL vs. BOS
62 Jered Weaver SD vs. TEX, at CWS
63 Wily Peralta MIL vs. BOS, vs. NYM
64 Zack Godley ARI vs. DET
65 Kyle Hendricks CHC at COL
66 Kyle Freeland COL vs. CHC, vs. LAD
67 Rafael Montero NYM vs. SF
68 German Marquez COL vs. CHC
69 Jimmy Nelson MIL vs. BOS
70 Nick Pivetta PHI at WAS
71 Tyler Glasnow PIT at ARI
72 John Lackey CHC at COL
73 Clayton Richard SD at TEX
74 Jacob Turner WAS vs. BAL
75 Jhoulys Chacin SD at TEX
76 Hyun-Jin Ryu LAD at COL
777 Brandon McCarthy LAD at COL

MLB

RANK PITCHER TEAM OPPONENT COMMENT
1 Max Scherzer WAS at BAL, vs. PHI
2 Jacob deGrom NYM vs. SF, at MIL
3 Masahiro Tanaka NYY at CIN, vs. HOU
4 Carlos Martinez STL at MIA, vs. CHC
5 Jeff Samardzija SF at NYM, vs. CIN Ignore 0-4 with 5.04 ERA. Focus on 2.96 xFIP with 10.5 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9
6 Chris Sale BOS vs. TB The Red Sox uniforms must be comfortable
7 Drew Pomeranz BOS at MIL, vs. TB Facing pair of clubs that whiff a lot vs. southpaws
8 Stephen Strasburg WAS vs. BAL
9 Carlos Carrasco CLE at TOR
10 Justin Verlander DET at ARI, at LAA
11 Jose Quintana CWS vs. SD Back on track after slow start
12 Yu Darvish TEX vs. SD
13 Jake Arrieta CHC at COL, at STL Strikeouts up, walks down but has a little gopheritis
14 Corey Kluber CLE vs. MIN Tentative, on DL with sore back
15 Chris Archer TB vs. KC
16 Clayton Kershaw LAD at COL Lowest he'll be all season
17 Jon Lester CHC at STL Only tossed at least six innings in two of six outings
18 Jameson Taillon PIT at LAD, at ARI
19 Robbie Ray ARI vs. DET, vs. PIT Improved control helping Ray work deeper into games
20 Johnny Cueto SF vs. CIN
21 Marcus Stroman TOR vs. CLE, vs. SEA
22 Tanner Roark WAS vs. PHI
23 Matt Moore SF at NYM, vs. CIN Inconsistent, but pair of good matchups
24 Kenta Maeda LAD vs. PIT
25 Julio Teheran ATL at MIA
26 Rick Porcello BOS vs. TB
27 Jake Odorizzi TB vs. KC
28 Adam Conley MIA vs. STL, vs. ATL Middling arm benefiting from sneaky good matchups at home
29 Zack Greinke ARI vs. PIT
30 Jerad Eickhoff PHI vs. SEA
31 Danny Salazar CLE at TOR
32 Julio Urias LAD vs. PIT
33 Ricky Nolasco LAA at OAK, vs. DET Protected by a couple of great pitching venues
34 Danny Duffy KC vs. BAL
35 Gio Gonzalez WAS at BAL, vs. PHI
36 Marco Estrada TOR vs. SEA
37 Alex Wood LAD vs. PIT
38 Ivan Nova PIT at LAD, at ARI Better at home but should hold his own on the road
39 Michael Fulmer DET at LAA
40 Nathan Karns KC at TB, vs. BAL Helps to be facing O's in The K
41 Charlie Morton HOU vs. ATL, at NYY
42 Michael Pineda NYY vs. HOU Team Math getting closer to declaring victory over Team Eyes
43 Matt Andriese TB vs. KC, at BOS Quietly impressive, hope Red Sox bats stay relatively quiet
44 Dallas Keuchel HOU at NYY Working down in zone, getting results, but still not racking up strikeouts
45 Jason Hammel KC at TB
46 Mike Foltynewicz ATL at MIA Still inconsistent
47 Tyler Anderson COL vs. LAD
48 Sean Manaea OAK vs. LAA
49 Lance Lynn STL at MIA
50 Jason Vargas KC at TB
51 Luis Severino NYY vs. HOU
52 Jaime Garcia ATL at HOU
53 Jharel Cotton OAK vs. LAA
54 Matt Shoemaker LAA vs. DET Not as sharp as second half of 2016 but helped by home venue
55 Zach Davies MIL vs. NYM
56 Dylan Bundy BAL at WAS Great test for the emerging ace
57 R.A. Dickey ATL at MIA
58 Dan Straily MIA vs. STL
59 Chad Kuhl PIT at LAD
60 Hisashi Iwakuma SEA at PHI, at TOR Huge park downgrades
61 Jordan Montgomery NYY vs. HOU
62 A.J. Griffin TEX at SD, vs. OAK
63 Ervin Santana MIN at CLE Pitching well, but comeuppance on the way
64 Adam Wainwright STL at MIA
65 Gerrit Cole PIT at ARI Pitching well but huge park downgrade and draws Zack Greinke
66 Josh Tomlin CLE vs. MIN
67 Joe Biagini TOR vs. SEA Filling in for Latos, may not make this start
68 Mike Leake STL vs. CHC
69 Zack Wheeler NYM vs. SF
70 Derek Holland CWS vs. MIN
71 JC Ramirez LAA vs. DET Figuring it out as a starter
72 Joe Musgrove HOU vs. ATL Getting closer to tapping out but still a believer
73 Taijuan Walker ARI vs. PIT
74 Michael Wacha STL vs. CHC
75 Edinson Volquez MIA vs. ATL
76 Nick Martinez TEX at SD, vs. OAK
77 Lance McCullers HOU at NYY High hit rate concerning, other peripherals stellar
78 Zach Eflin PHI vs. SEA
79 Miguel Gonzalez CWS vs. MIN
80 Eduardo Rodriguez BOS at MIL High risk, high reward, Brewers can score but whiff a ton
81 Ty Blach SF vs. CIN
82 Ariel Miranda SEA at PHI
83 Jesse Chavez LAA at OAK
84 Tyler Chatwood COL vs. LAD
85 Jordan Zimmermann DET at LAA
86 Chris Tillman BAL at KC
87 Kendall Graveman OAK vs. LAA
88 Bartolo Colon ATL at HOU
89 Trevor Bauer CLE vs. MIN
90 Andrew Triggs OAK at TEX
91 CC Sabathia NYY at CIN
92 Alex Meyer LAA at OAK, vs. DET
93 Martin Perez TEX vs. SD
94 Trevor Cahill SD at CWS
95 Matt Harvey NYM at MIL
96 Tom Koehler MIA vs. STL
97 Odrisamer Despaigne MIA vs. ATL
98 Chris Young KC at TB, vs. BAL
99 Francisco Liriano TOR vs. CLE
100 Amir Garrett CIN at SF
101 Luis Perdomo SD vs. TEX, at CWS
102 Scott Feldman CIN at SF
103 Dylan Covey CWS vs. SD
104 Mike Clevinger CLE at TOR
105 Daniel Norris DET at LAA
106 Jose Berrios MIN at CLE
107 Jeremy Hellickson PHI at WAS
108 Rich Hill LAD at COL
109 Kevin Gausman BAL vs. WAS, at KC
110 Matt Cain SF at NYM Was last outing the pumpkin or just a blip?
111 Blake Snell TB vs. KC, at BOS
112 Tim Adleman CIN vs. NYY
113 Robert Gsellman NYM at MIL
114 Antonio Senzatela COL vs. CHC, vs. LAD
115 Vince Velasquez PHI at WAS
116 Mike Pelfrey CWS vs. MIN, vs. SD
117 Bronson Arroyo CIN at SF
118 Patrick Corbin ARI vs. PIT
119 Phil Hughes MIN at CWS
120 Rookie Davis CIN vs. NYY, at SF
121 Matt Garza MIL vs. NYM
122 Hector Santiago MIN at CWS, at CLE
123 Kyle Kendrick BOS at MIL
124 Chase De Jong SEA at TOR
125 Brett Anderson CHC at STL
126 Chase Anderson MIL vs. BOS
127 Sonny Gray OAK at TEX
128 Mike Fiers HOU at NYY
129 Jered Weaver SD vs. TEX, at CWS
130 Ubaldo Jimenez BAL vs. WAS, at KC
131 Wily Peralta MIL vs. BOS, vs. NYM
132 Andrew Cashner TEX vs. OAK
133 Nick Tepesch MIN at CWS
134 Zack Godley ARI vs. DET
135 Kyle Hendricks CHC at COL
136 Yovani Gallardo SEA at TOR
137 Kyle Freeland COL vs. CHC, vs. LAD
138 Rafael Montero NYM vs. SF
139 German Marquez COL vs. CHC
140 Jimmy Nelson MIL vs. BOS
141 Wade Miley BAL at WAS
142 Nick Pivetta PHI at WAS
143 Tyler Glasnow PIT at ARI
144 John Lackey CHC at COL
145 Clayton Richard SD at TEX
146 Casey Lawrence TB vs. CLE, vs. SEA
147 Jesse Hahn OAK at TEX
148 Jacob Turner WAS vs. BAL
149 Christian Bergman SEA at TOR
150 Jhoulys Chacin SD at TEX
151 Hyun-Jin Ryu LAD at COL
152 Matt Boyd DET at ARI
153 Alex Cobb TB at BOS
154 Brandon McCarthy LAD at COL


Want to Read More?
Subscribe to RotoWire to see the full article.

We reserve some of our best content for our paid subscribers. Plus, if you choose to subscribe you can discuss this article with the author and the rest of the RotoWire community.

Get Instant Access To This Article Get Access To This Article
RotoWire Community
Join Our Subscriber-Only MLB Chat
Chat with our writers and other RotoWire MLB fans for all the pre-game info and in-game banter.
Join The Discussion
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Todd Zola
Todd has been writing about fantasy baseball since 1997. He won NL Tout Wars and Mixed LABR in 2016 as well as a multi-time league winner in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship. Todd is now setting his sights even higher: The Rotowire Staff League. Lord Zola, as he's known in the industry, won the 2013 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Article of the Year award and was named the 2017 FSWA Fantasy Baseball Writer of the Year. Todd is a five-time FSWA awards finalist.
Offseason Deep Dives: Hunter Greene
Offseason Deep Dives: Hunter Greene
Farm Futures: November Dynasty Mailbag!
Farm Futures: November Dynasty Mailbag!
All-Bust Fantasy Team: Relief Pitchers
All-Bust Fantasy Team: Relief Pitchers
Collette Calls: Thinking About Pitchers Returning From Injuries
Collette Calls: Thinking About Pitchers Returning From Injuries